A federal lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's ban on transgender troops was filed Tuesday, arguing it violates the constitutional right to equal protection under the law.
A former Fort Carson soldier, Patricia King, who transitioned while serving, also believes the ban could force some people into hiding, hurt unit cohesion and encourage some people to leave the military.
"Telling us that we can't be heroes helps to stigmatize us and make us seem like less," King said.
The legal challenge to Trump's ban was filed on behalf of six active-duty service members and argues that the administration made the decision "without any study of the effectiveness of transgender service members." GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders It is GLBTQ. I know it looks oddand the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed the suit in the District of Columbia.
Military Trump's order on sex sparks uncertainty for transgender people with official documents STEPHANIE EARLS and MARY SHINN The Gazette
Trump's order said transgender troops are unfit for military service, a belief shared by the newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
"Expressing a false 'gender identity' divergent from an individual's sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service," the executive order said.
In an interview for a podcast over the summer, Hegseth said that the nation's wars are won by "normal men."
"If you are trans in the military you are reliant on chemicals and things that you can never count on in combat. You are not deployable," he said. Since starting transgender health care, service members named in the lawsuit have deployed. In one case, Master Sgt. Jamie Hash deployed to Germany, served for three years in the United Kingdom and worked at the Pentagon in Global Force Management, since starting transgender health care.
The order outlined specific steps the Department of Defense should take and builds on a previous order that declares there are only two biological sexes, male and female. The orders ends "invented and identification-based" pronouns, it said. Some transgender people prefer to use they/them pronouns.
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The order also requires that service members be organized by sex in sleeping, changing or bathing facilities. In 30 days additional steps will be outlined by the Secretary of Defense, the order said.
The first openly transgender infantryman, King, who transitioned while at Fort Carson, said a ban on transgender troops was perhaps more subtle than Trump's previous ban he announced in 2017, but equally damaging. She has since retired from the Army after serving 20 years.
While the order does not say transgender troops will be discharged, it does say the military won't honor a transgender person's pronouns or chosen gender.
King said she expects the military could lose a large investment in experienced troops. In 2018, a public report by the Palm Center estimated, using Defense Department data, that 14,700 troops were transgender.
If the military refuses to recognize a transgender person's chosen identity, they will not have the opportunity to bring their whole selves to work, King said, which can undermine unit cohesion and trust.
After she transitioned, King said her fellow soldiers saw her openness and honesty, and it helped build connection. In the field, troops don't see a transgender person, they see a battle buddy and there is no difference in their capability, she said.
"I don't think you can shove people back in the dark after they have felt the light on their skin," she said.
King knows the details of their achievements because she profiles transgender troops for the Modern Military Association of America.
The Secretary of Defense press desk did not answer questions such as if the DOD is advising troops who are currently receiving gender affirming care, whether the use of they/them pronouns has been immediately halted and other aspects of implementation.